Parker receives award for children’s research
Julie Parker
A Mississippi State School of Human Sciences faculty member was recognized by a national organization of child life professionals for research aimed to help children who have experienced assault.
Associate Professor Julie Parker was honored with the 2022 Professional Research Recognition Award by the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP). The award recognizes her work as a co-author on Supporting Children Experiencing a Pediatric-Sexual Assault Forensic Examination: Preparation for and Perceptions of the Role of the Child Life Specialist. This award acknowledges research initiatives aimed to examine child life specialists’ perspectives on their preparation for and role in helping children cope with a medical examination after a traumatic sexual assault.
“I appreciate being nominated and receiving this award from the Association of Child Life Professionals. As a longtime Certified Child Life Specialist and member of the association, this recognition is very meaningful,” Parker said. “This award is not only meaningful to the professional field but informs the practice of the emerging professionals in our undergraduate Human Development and Family Science- Child Life program.”
Parker and her collaborators from the University of Alabama focused on the experiences of child life professionals working within healthcare institutions with pediatric patients experiencing a pediatric-sexual assault forensic examination. The goal of a clinical child life specialist is to prevent traumas for all patients during a healthcare experience, especially for those that have experienced sexual assault. The study provides additional findings that inform the practices of both child life students and clinical professionals when working with this very vulnerable population.
“The award demonstrates the importance of cross-disciplinary and institutional efforts that provide evidence-based approaches to academic instruction and professional practice,” Parker said. “This study makes a valuable contribution to the field of child life, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work collaboratively with a group of dedicated professionals to advance science in our discipline.”
Parker is an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the MSU Extension Service. She leads the Early Intervention online graduate program.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
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